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Venture Capital News: Switchfly Secures $15M Series C

2012-03-08
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of travel, loyalty and payment solutions announced it has secured $15 million in Series C financing being led by StarVest Partners of New York.
Switchfly, Inc. (formerly ezRez Software, Inc.), a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of travel, loyalty and payment solutions, today announced it has secured $15 million in Series C financing being led by StarVest Partners of New York, with participation from existing investors Azure Capital Partners and Canaan Partners. This brings the total capital raised by Switchfly to date to $32 million.

Switchfly, founded in 2003, delivers technology solutions in the areas of travel commerce, loyalty program management, online and mobile payments, and social media via its configurable SaaS platform. The company's global client roster includes some of the largest brands in the world, such as American Airlines, AirAsia, American Express, Emirates Airline, Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, JetBlue, Lufthansa, PayPal, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and United Airlines.

The additional capital will accelerate Switchfly's product development and further expand its global operations. Switchfly's major products are available in 50 currencies and 25 languages, including:

A core travel platform that powers commerce websites for airlines, hotels, financial services companies and online travel agencies, integrating travel inventory such as air, hotel, car rental and trip activities from more than 300,000 unique travel providers and more than 90 APIs. Approximately $750 million in travel transactions spanning 100 countries are processed through this travel platform annually.
A loyalty platform that processes more than 20 billion reward points annually, helping some of the largest loyalty programs in the world design and implement customized point redemption capabilities, such as the ability to pay for travel with a combination of points plus cash.
A new digital wallet product, announced with MileagePlus and PayPal in the fall and expected to launch in 2012, that allows loyalty program members to pay for merchandise with reward points.
Social and mobile products from recently acquired Topguest, which help loyalty programs engage with members through their interactions with location-based social networking tools like Foursquare, Facebook Places and geo-located tweets.

"Switchfly combines a great leadership team with one of the best technology platforms resulting in some of the strongest overall growth potential we've seen among SaaS companies serving the travel and loyalty sectors," said Larry Bettino, general partner, StarVest Partners, who has joined the Switchfly board of directors. "StarVest has been investing in SaaS companies since 1999 and we believe Switchfly has only tapped the surface of its growth potential."

"We're energized by StarVest's commitment, especially considering their expertise in working with innovative and successful SaaS companies," said Daniel Farrar, CEO of Switchfly, which was rebranded from ezRez Software earlier this year. "StarVest is the ideal partner to help us further our strategy of helping clients deliver a rich online experience that goes beyond what their customers expect, engendering loyalty while increasing revenue."

About Switchfly, Inc.

Switchfly, Inc. (formerly ezRez Software, Inc.) is a global software-as-a-service provider that helps travel companies, loyalty programs and financial services institutions engage with their highest value customers. The Switchfly product suite includes white label travel commerce and loyalty redemption platforms, a loyalty payments engine for digital wallets, social network engagement products through Topguest, mobile solutions for travel and loyalty partners, and personalized marketing solutions. Switchfly works with more than 300,000 travel suppliers, loyalty programs and payment providers globally, including AirAsia, American Airlines, United Airlines, Starwood Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels, JetBlue, American Express and PayPal. Collectively, more than 20 billion reward points are redeemed through the Switchfly platform annually. Based in San Francisco, Switchfly was founded in 2003 and has secured $32 million in venture funding led by Canaan Partners, StarVest Partners and Azure Capital Partners. For more information, visit www.switchfly.com, www.facebook.com/switchfly and www.twitter.com/switchflyinc.

About StarVest Partners

StarVest Partners is a New York-based venture capital firm with $400 million under management that is funding technology-enabled business services companies throughout the United States. The firm's value-added partnership maintains a laser focus on five key emerging technology and services sectors: Software as a Service (SaaS), Internet Marketing Services, eCommerce Services, Data Aggregation Services and Identity and Security Management. StarVest combines a sophisticated investment background with the experience to foresee opportunities for both its portfolio companies and funding partners. The firm invests nationally having invested in companies that are recognized as "Fastest Growing" in California, Texas, Arizona and now New York. The firm's general partners are Deborah A. Farrington, Laura B. Sachar, Jeanne M. Sullivan and Larry A. Bettino. More information about StarVest is available at the company's Web site: www.starvestpartners.com.
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